单选题
Few men who find themselves cast as heroes early in
life continue to command universal esteem till the end. Sir Edmund Hillary was
one. To be the first to reach the top of the world's highest mountain ensured
international celebrity and a place in history, but the modesty of a slightly
awkward New Zealand beekeeper never departed him. Nor was
mountaineering, or indeed beekeeping, his only accomplishment.
Two views are often expressed about his life. One is that conquering
Everest was everything. No one would play down the role of Tenzing Norgay, the
Sherpa who reached the peak with him, possibly even before him; their
partnership was like that of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. But it was Sir
Edmund who first struggled his way up a crack in the 12-metre (40-foot) rockface
that had to be overcome after the south summit if the real one was to be
achieved, and below which only oblivion awaited. News of the
British-led expedition's triumph on May 29th 1953 reached the world through a
report in the London Times four days later. The Times, a sponsor of the
expedition, had used an elaborate code to trick any rivals monitoring the radio
waves. Its scoop was indeed a coup: June 2nd was the day of Queen Elizabeth's
coronation, at which her majesty was crowned. Sir Edmund was a
man of action. After Everest came more expeditious in Nepal, a race to the South
Pole and further adventures in the Antarctic, the Himalayas and India. But for
some onlookers neither these nor even the Everest expedition was especially
remarkable: fitness and physical courage are all very well, they argued, but the
world's highest peak was simply waiting to be scaled, and a steady traffic
nowadays makes its way to the top unnoticed, except for the litter it
leaves. Both the indifferent and the awe-struck, however, agree
that Sir Edmund's other life was wholly admirable, and he himself said he was
prouder of it than of anything else. This was his tireless work for the Sherpas,
of whom he had become so fond. Through his efforts, and those of Tenzing,
hospitals, clinics, bridges, runways and nearly 30 schools have been built in
the Solo Khumbu region of Nepal just south of Everest. If New Zealand claimed
Sir Edmund's loyalist, Nepal, and especially its Sherpas, could surely claim his
heart.
单选题
Which of the following is true of Sir Edmund Hillary?
A. He never left the awkward New Zealand beekeeper.
B. He is the first person to reach the top of Everest.
C. Neither mountaineering nor beekeeping was his accomplishment.
D. He failed to command universal esteem till the end.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】
单选题
The Times was the first to report the news of expedition's triumph in
that
A. it was one of the major sponsors of this expedition.
B. its headquarters was located in London.
C. it used the code its rivals could not comprehend.
D. it was much smarter than its competitors.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
The sentence "a steady traffic nowadays makes its way to the top
unnoticed" (Lines 4-5, Paragraph4) shows that
A. conquering Everest is not special since more people set foot on it.
B. people could reach the top of Everest with the help of vehicles.
C. people would not respect those conquering Everest by vehicles.
D. the world's highest peak would be conquered anyway.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
According to the passage, Sir Edmund's other life refers to
A. the modest life of working as the beekeeper in New Zealand.
B. the exciting life of adventures.
C. the meaningful life of working hard for the Sherpas.
D. the busy life of being an international celebrity.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
An appropriate title for the text is most likely to be